1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to deep fried foodstuffs retaining a minimum amount of the frying medium used in their preparation and an improved method for preparing said deep fried foodstuffs.
2. Description of the Related Arts
When foodstuffs are deep fried at high temperatures the water of the foodstuff is explosively vaporized creating voids in the foodstuff particularly at the periphery. The frying medium fills in these voids during the frying period. This results in a product with a large amount of materials deemed very bad from a nutritional viewpoint (high caloric, arteriosclerotic, and carcinogenic content). It is also costly in terms of fat and oil usage. The energy used to remove the water vaporized lowers the frying temperature thereby necessitating longer frying times. This increases the fuel costs and works against careful temperature control. Furthermore the frothing and foaming associated with this loss of water increases frying oil medium losses, and the attendant increase in cost. It also fills the ambient room air with oil containing the carcinogens produced by the high temperatures used in frying. Coatings on food are not new. Fried foods are traditionally coated with a batter or are breaded. Either of these coatings unfortunately suffers from all of the disadvantages of traditional frying processes.
Prosine in U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,908 describes the use of the synthetic polymer polyvinylpyrollidone as a coating to minimize oil uptake in deep frying. This is very interesting and potentially very useful as taught in the patent. However, there is always the question of unforeseen hazards to health when dealing with a synthetic polymer.
Gold in U.S. Pat. No. 3,424,591 describes a process using a thin coating of methyl cellulose. Unfortunately, this retains an excess of water in the fried product, making it soggy.
Morley in U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,702 describes the use of soluble coatings of biologically derived materials to mask the flavor of insoluble dietary fibers derived from cereal brans. He does not claim the use of these to reduce the fat and oil content of deep fried foodstuffs.
Nonaka et al in U.S. Pat. No. 3,846,572 disclose an environmentally unacceptable process involving the use of a dichlorodifluoro hydrocarbon freeze followed by a water leach prior to deep frying.
Olsen et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,583 describe a process for preparing battered and breaded foodstuffs using either starch or gelatin films to prevent oil absorption.
Lee et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,625 provide a process for preparing potato chips involving partially frying the chips in hot oil. A substantial amount of residual oil is removed in an oxygen free atmosphere using steam followed by a treating with superheated steam. Obviously an initial partial frying is working against the purpose of minimizing oil retention. The use of superheated steam would entail considerable expenditure of time and energy. The capital and operating expenses would be equally burdensome.
My invention does not offer solutions to each individual problem associated with the attempts made by the earlier inventions to minimize undesirable oil uptake in deep frying that are compatible with desirable organoleptic properties. It does address many of the objections and furthermore allows for a wide variety of organoleptic properties attached to the deep fried foodstuff because of the nature of my method. By varying the conditions used in the pretreatment used in one of the embodiments of this invention the product's organoleptic property can be varied. Totally crunchy to crunchy on the outside/soft in the inside can be produced depending upon the amount of water removed in said pretreatment.
1. I teach the removal of water in a first step without the use of environmentally unsound chemicals that Nonanka et al suggest. Dry cooking in a conventional oven, cooking in a microwave oven, by vacuum, by freeze drying and combinations of these can be used.
2. My use of natural polymers with or without a first water removing step is obviously preferable to the synthetic ones suggested by Prosine. It is difficult to predict unknown and harmful harmful effects associated with synthetic synthetic polymers.
3. The dry pretreatments of my invention overcomes the objections to Gold cited by Prosine, regarding the retention of too much water whereby the core of the fried foodstuff is soggy. My process, particularly the embodiment which incorporates a first step which removes water prior to coating does two things. It prevents the voids, into which the frying medium enters thus minimizing the fat content of the product. It also gives the preparer options as to core water content, frying time and temperature depending on how much water is removed in the first step. It is permits the preparation of a foodstuffs exhibiting a wide variety of organoleptic properties. These operational parameters make it possible to minimize frying time, and temperature hence costs.
4. My invention does not require two additional treatments with steam and superheated steam respective to get rid of oil as taught by Lee et al.